Strawberry Lovers
by klrob
Summary: "Something snapped in her mind. Hearing him talk like that… It made her so angry, and all the feelings just came pouring out. She had tried to hold them back for so long, and she just… couldn't anymore."   IchiHime. Birthday fic for me.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first Bleach fanfiction. I know that the characters are totally OOC, since I am not a die-hard Bleach fan. But I do love Renji and Rukia and Ichigo and Orihime together. So, read and review… This story is AU (sort of) and involves lemonade of the sourest kind. My Japanese is incredibly rusty and all terminology that is generally included with Japan, so try and ignore my mistakes…

My very special birthday present to all of you. Happy birthday! (to myself)

**Strawberry Lovers**

She couldn't breathe. She had to get out of that house before… before something happened. Something that she would regret. If it came out in there, it would almost be as bad as admitting _it_ to _his_ face. And she couldn't do that. She could never do that. Orihime wasn't one to ruin a perfect relationship between two friends. She didn't know what she would do with herself if she actually did… That's why she had to leave. Tatsuki understood why, but only she seemed to. Everyone probably knew why, it was just…

She sat on the front stoop in front of the house and inhaled deeply. She wasn't feeling well anymore. The thought of what happened between the two of them made her sick to her stomach. She just needed to breathe. And that's exactly what she did for what felt like days. But then… he came. Ichigo had come home from his own Bachelor's party, but no one would know why.

"Oi, Inoue. What are you doing here?" She looked up into his deep brown eyes. It was almost as if he could see what was really going on inside her head. But he couldn't. He was too dense. He just would never find out…

"Kurosaki-kun." She gave him a blunt response, not really answering his question at all. Wasn't it obvious what she was doing at his house?

"You're here for Rukia's party, right?" She nodded. "Why aren't you inside?"

"…I needed time to breathe. It was getting too crowded in there." Ichigo couldn't help but notice how weird it was that she didn't start rambling on about whatever was going on inside.

"Well, do you want to go get a cup of coffee? I'm sure the other women won't mind." She looked up at him.

"Don't you have a bachelor's party?" He shrugged. "I'm ditching. It's getting too crazy for me over there. I'm getting married in two days. Rukia would kick my ass if I came to our wedding incredibly hung over from drinking two days ago."

She stared at him before slowly saying, "I guess I would be able to go get some coffee with you." He gave her a small smile and she nodded in his direction. Together, the two walked towards the small café that lay near the house, and sat down in a booth.

The waitress came over and got their drinks, leaving them to silently sit in an awkward silence. "So, Inoue. How have you been?"

"Fine."

"That's good. We haven't done this in a while, have we? Gotten a cup of coffee together. Not since after…" She glanced up at him before returning her attention to her mug. "Yeah."

They sat silently together for another couple minutes before Orihime finally finished her drink. "I should be getting home now. Tatsuki is probably wondering where I am."

"Here, let me pay." She stopped his hand from putting down the money. "It's fine. I got it."

He shook his head. "I should. I don't want you wasting any of your money."

"I'm fine," she said a little more sharply. He stopped trying, hearing the venom laced within her words. When had Inoue become this… harsh towards him?

"Then let me walk you home." She tried to stop him, but he held up his hand. "No. Let me at least do this."

She bitterly allowed him and they walked home in yet another awkward silence. They finally reached her apartment, the one that's been hers since before Sora died. It was small, but it was her place. Hers and Sora's.

They stopped in front of her door and she began to unlock it. "Arigatou, Kurosaki-kun." Before she was able to close the door, he put his hand up, effectively stopping it.

"Inoue… Can I come in for a couple minutes?"

"I really don't think that's a good idea-"

"Too bad." He walked in and she closed the door. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what's wrong with us. We used to be such great friends in high school, and after Hueco Mundo, everything seemed… better. But now you've been fucking ignoring me for the past five years, and I've barely seen you around. And tonight at the café, you barely said anything to me. What the hell is up with you, Inoue?"

Something snapped in her mind. Hearing him talk like that… It made her so angry, and all the feelings just came pouring out. She had tried to hold them back for so long, and she just… couldn't anymore.

"After Hueco Mundo, a lot has happened to me. A lot of things that involved me growing up. I'm not a child anymore, _Ichigo._ I'm just me. Of course I've been avoiding you! I'm-" She managed to stop herself before anything else came out. If what she's been holding back came out in that… Everything would be over. Her life, mainly. She couldn't deal with that happening. _Not again…_

"Like what, Inoue? What is so bad that you can't tell me? That you've been ignoring me?"

She looked down at her feet. "I can't tell you. Not now, not ever." He grabbed her arms, not hard, but enough to get the point across. "Please. Just tell me, Inoue. I'm begging you."

She shook off his grasp. "Please, I would appreciate it if you got out." She went to open the door and turned back to him, but he was now making himself comfortable on her couch.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me exactly what the hell is going on with you. I don't care if I have to stay here forever."

"You'd miss your wedding. And you'd die on my couch. I'm never going to tell you."

"Well, I guess I'm going to be staying here a long time then."

**Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love.**

The pounding on the front door wasn't stopping. Her head hurt, although she didn't drink much sake last night… She walked across her living room and opened the door to a frantic Tatsuki.

"Orihime, have you seen-" She stopped suddenly, and Orihime turned to see what she was staring at. She had spotted the orange haired shinigami sleeping on her couch.

"What is he doing here?" Tatsuki was trying to keep her cool, but it was hard to do when she was whisper-yelling at her best friend.

"He refuses to leave until I tell him what's going on and why I've been acting different." Tatsuki glared at the man. "Do you want me to kick his sorry ass off the couch for you?"

Orihime was about to respond when said man woke up. "Hey, Tatsuki. What's going on?"

"What's going on? What's going on? Your fiancé has been freaking out about where you were last night. You didn't come home, and she's been freaking out on us all. That's what's going on."

"Well, I'm crashing on Inoue's couch until she decides to tell me what this huge secret is."

"You want to know the big secret? Orihime's-" Tatsuki was stopped suddenly by a hand clapping over her mouth and being dragged into the healer's bedroom. Her large gray eyes looked tired and helpless. "Please don't, Tatsuki. I'll just tell him and then he'll leave. And then… And then I will, remember?"

Tatsuki nodded. "Does he even know that you're moving away? And to America?" She shook her head.

"And he won't until I'm already gone." Tatsuki could understand that Orihime didn't want anyone to tell Ichigo about her… departure. At least, not while she was still in the country. They walked back out together, and Ichigo was still on the couch.

"So, what was that meeting about?"

"How badly I'm going to kick your ass if you don't let this little idea of yours go," Tatsuki retorted.

Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his already spiky hair. "Tatsuki, I just want to know what's wrong with Inoue."

"Why can't you just let this go?" Orihime was worrying. She didn't want to tell him anything that happened in the past few years. They were hard enough just to thin about them, but to actually retell them? And to the person who caused them in the first place?

"Please, Inoue. I just want to help."

"Well, you can't, okay? It's not something you can fix. You said you wanted to protect me all those years ago, so why can't you keep doing that and just drop it?"

Ichigo stood up. "It's not something I can drop. You've avoided me for the past five years now? You can't avoid me any longer, Inoue."

Tatsuki could see the tension between them and moved to hit Ichigo. Orihime managed to stop Tatsuki before she did anything rash, and turned to her. "Tatsuki, do you think you could give Ichigo and me a bit of time alone?"

Tatsuki glared at Ichigo, giving him a warning look before turning back to Orihime and nodding. She put her hand on her best friend's shoulder sympathetically and left.

"Are you finally going to tell me what's been the issue between us?"

A dark look crossed over her face. "If I tell you… you have to promise me that you'll leave immediately. You can't stay after and try and help me. You _have. To. Leave."_

Ichigo hesitated before nodding slightly. "Why don't you sit down then? It's a long story."

Ichigo followed her direction and stared at her hard. She sighed and sat on her knees.

"If you really want to know the reason that I've been avoiding you for the past couple years, it's because I… I'm in love with you. I have been since I met you. You never noticed, and I… I was really happy for a while. You came to rescue me in Hueco Mundo, even though everyone said I was a traitor. You tried to protect me in everyway that should count, and I just couldn't get you to love me back. You're in love with Kuchiki-san now, and I don't want you to be burdened with me. I had to watch you two fall in love, and I knew that we could never be together. I want you to be happy, and if that's with Kuchiki-san… I would be fine with that. I had to do a lot of growing up when I found out you two were together, and I could never be that innocent little girl I was anymore. I had to learn how to protect myself from being hurt. I couldn't get hurt, not again. Hachi-san helped me with my powers, but I had to learn on my own how to stop get so emotionally hurt.

I guess it really started when we came back from Hueco Mundo. Tatsuki managed to convince me to tell you of my feelings a day soon after that, and I was going to. I intended on it. I had gone to find you after school that day, and Sado-kun told me that you were around the corner. And I went there to confront you about myself, but I… saw you kissing Kuchiki-san. And it killed me inside, to know that you could never have a chance with me. I ran away from you, and acted normal when I got back to the group, and Tatsuki managed to get me to tell her what happened. I remember telling her, 'It's hard to tell something you love them if their tongue is shoved down another girl's throat.' And Tatsuki looked so pained. It's almost funny at how much more hurt she was compared to me. I knew you would never want to be with em, since I was so weird and… ugly, and just so helpless. Then, you and Kuchiki-san came out to everyone that you were together, and everyone congratulated you. I had this horrible idea in my head that if I could fix everything that was wrong with me, you might… fall for me instead.

So I tried. Those were the days when I stopped smiling so much, and I started thinking more negative thoughts. Tatsuki forced me to go to the doctor after a couple months of acting so much differently, and they told me I had mental depression. They gave me some pills, which never helped me at all. I started thinking that night about how everyday in class, you and Kuchiki-san would walk in, holding hands or kissing or something. And that killed me on the inside. I had been doing something, and I can't remember what. But there was broken glass all over the floor and I picked it up with my bare hands… I cut myself with a big piece, and I just watched the blood drip down my arm. I couldn't stop cutting myself, and I just felt like I needed to. I kept cutting and in the end, there were probably six or seven cuts on my arm. I stared at them for the longest time, but Tatsuki came over. She brought me to the hospital before I did any real damage to myself and saved me.

I hated it and how I still felt so helpless," a tear fell out of Orihime's eye. "I didn't come to school for a week, because of those cuts. I hated myself, and I wanted to kill myself. Because of you. I just hated living in so much pain. And then it was finally the last year of high school, and it was one of the last days. I was kind of happy because after, I didn't have to see you and Kuchiki-san every day. I could go to Tokyo University and not worry about being near you all the time. But Tatsuki came over earlier that night and told me how you and Kuchiki-san broke up earlier that day. I don't know, but I felt so happy at that. Because there might've been a chance between us. And Tatsuki managed to convince me to go over there and try and help you cope. She wanted me to feel better before I started at Tokyo U and she wanted me to help you as well. So I wore this stupid trench coat with barely anything underneath and I walked to your house.

I- I remember knocking on your door and your younger sister, Yuzu, coming to the door. I told her how I wanted to see you, and Yuzu told me how I probably didn't want to do that. I asked her why, but then I heard… screaming. It was Kuchiki-san and you having… sex. She had managed to get there before I did, and you two made up before I could do anything. I hated hearing you two calling for each other so loudly, and Yuzu looked pained, but not for the same reason. I remember running out of your house as fast as I could and I ran back to my house. Tatsuki was gone by then, and I remember stripping out of those stupid clothes as fast as I could. I felt so stupid, trying to win you from the one person who you would love forever.

Karin came over later that night to see if I was okay. And she came in and I went to make some food for her. I was trying to hide my eyes, since I had been crying. I remember my hand… reaching for the knife so I could cut something. And I remember thinking at that moment that it was almost too painful for me to watch you and Kuchiki-san live so happily together. I stabbed myself in the stomach with the knife, twice, and I fell onto the ground when Karin finally came into the kitchen. She helped me stop the bleeding, although I tried to stop her. I didn't want her to touch it, and I didn't want her to help me. I wanted to die so badly that night. I felt like such an idiot and so blind for not seeing how much you and Kuchiki-san had loved each other.

I made sure Karin didn't take me to the hospital that night, but she called Tatsuki. They helped me fix it up as well as I could, before I remembered my Shun Shun Rikka. I called them to save me, and they fixed it up. I didn't want them to fix it completely, so I made sure they left a scar. To remind me of what happened that night and to make sure that I never fall in love with you again. From that night, I tried to get rid of my feelings for you, but they're still here. I hate myself for falling in love with you, and I've tried to kill myself twice now because of you. I hated the feeling of being so alone and not having anyone to help me through all of this. I… I tried to avoid you for the past couple year, because if I didn't, then I would know for sure how much I still loved you. And then Kuchiki-san wrote me to say how you and her were going to get married, and I think I was happy. Not much, but just enough.

I was still upset, but this would be the perfect chance for me to finally get over you. And it is. That's why you're going to marry her tomorrow, and… it's the perfect chance for me to get over you. Forever." Orihime was sobbing by this time and Ichigo felt broken at the sight. He got down next to her and tried to pull her into his embrace. She pushed him away and began to rub her eyes to stop her crying. "I told myself a long time ago that I wouldn't cry over you again. And now look what happened." She gave a nervous chuckle as she stopped crying and looked at Ichigo. His face gave away everything that words couldn't.

She stood up and walked towards her door. "I told you what was wrong. Now you have to leave, just like you said you would." He stood up, but stared at her, so shocked and unable to process everything he was just told at once.

"What do you mean? Are you really forcing me to leave? After what you just told me? Inoue, you just said how you had feelings for me for years. And how you tried to fucking kill yourself twice because you were depressed over me. And now you want me to leave?"

She nodded. Ichigo, shocked walked towards the door, but stopped in the doorway. He turned back towards her and told her with heavy eyes, "We have to talk about this sometime."

"We just did. Don't expect me to be at your wedding tomorrow." She slammed the door in his face, and he stood there for a couple minutes before finally recognizing what just happened. He walked towards his house, mind filled with all the things that had just happened.

**Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. **

Tatsuki stood in Orihime's house, mouth hanging open. "What are you talking about, Orihime?"

"I'm not going to the wedding. I'm leaving today, instead. It's not hard to understand, Tatsuki." Orihime was continuing to pack her clothes into a second suitcase and turned towards Tatsuki.

"But you have to! And you can't leave! We still had another couple days!"

"I called yesterday and checked with the director in America. He said it was fine if I came a little earlier than planned. My apartment over there has been set up already, so I just needed to move in. You were going to take my apartment when I left so that you didn't have to live with your sister still. You just get to have the apartment now sooner. You should be happy."

"How can I be happy about losing my best friend to America!"

Orihime put a reassuring hand on Tatsuki's shoulder. "It's going to be okay. I'll be fine."

Tatsuki warily nodded at her friend, giving up on an issue that she knew Orihime would not give up on. "Just... be really careful in America, okay? They have rapists there and I can't protect you anymore." Orihime nodded and gave her friend a caring hug. "Have a good time at the wedding, Tatsuki. I'll miss you so much." She pulled back and gave her best friend a sad smile. Tatsuki slowly walked out of the apartment after a couple more minutes of good-byes.

**Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love.**

"Hey Tatsuki. Where's Inoue?" Ichigo had pulled the young martial arts master off to the side in his dressing room. Everyone else had left already, and that left the two of them alone. Tatsuki glared at him. "Why do you need to know?"

"We need to talk about what happened yesterday."

"Well, isn't that too bad? She left this morning." Tatsuki was acting cynical and was obviously upset at the mention of Orihime.

"What do you mean, she left this morning?"

"She was going to America. A really good job opportunity came up and she took it, mostly to get away from you." Ichigo scowled at the vitriolic girl.

"Is she coming back?"

"No. We said good bye this morning." Ichigo grabbed his jacket and ran out the door. "Where are you going, baka?"

"To find Inoue. She can't leave." Ichigo got into the car and drove as fast as he could to the airport. He made it there in record time and searched the crowd for her auburn hair. He was stopped at the front gates.

"Excuse me, sir. You need a ticket to get on that flight."

"Fine. Give me a ticket for America."

"Would you like a round trip or one-way?"

"One way."

"I'm sorry, sir. We only have first class seats left."

"Fine. Give me one." She nodded and he grabbed his ticket.

He ran onto the plane after going through security. He finally made it onto the plane and was forced to sit in his seat because the plane was taking off soon. After take off, he was finally able to get out of his seat and he practically shot out of his. He ran into the back of the plane and searched for her. He was about to give up when he finally spotted her sitting in the back corner near a window. Some teenager was sitting next to her and he went up to him. "Hey kid, can I sit here?"

"No way!" Ichigo sighed. "You want my seat in first class? You can have it if you give me this seat."

The kid jumped up and walked towards first class. Ichigo replaced him in his seat and he turned towards Orihime, who looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had to stop you from leaving. We need to talk about this."

"You're supposed to be getting married right now. That's why I left _now._"

"I'll deal with Rukia. We need to talk. _Now."_

Orihime turned towards him. "Why? I told you everything yesterday, which was hard enough. I'm finally getting a chance to get away from you, which I'm really hoping will let me be happy again. Why don't you want me to be happy?"

"Of course I want you to be happy, Inoue. I just want you to be happy in Karakura." Orihime shook her head. "I tried that. It didn't work."

"Well, you can make it work."

"I can't-"

"You _can. Please."_

"No. I'm not. When we have to switch planes, you're going to get off of this one and go back home to Karakura. With Rukia. So you can be happy."

"No."

"_Yes."_ Orihime turned away from him and sat, facing the window.

"Why are you making this so difficult?"

"I'm not trying to-"  
"Of course you are. Why don't you want to fix this? We used to be such great friends. Don't you want to go back to being that?"

"No. I don't want to be _just friends._ I want to be more. But you're going to be more with Kuchiki-san. Not me."

"Inoue. That doesn't mean we can't still be friends-"

"Rukia is pregnant." Silence filled the air between them and Ichigo was shocked. Orihime had just casually thrown out the fact that his fiancé was pregnant, and he hadn't known about it.

"You have to go back now. And return to her. We can't be friends. Do you know how hard it will be to see you with a family? You know you could never leave Rukia and your baby."

Ichigo barely heard her call Rukia… well, Rukia instead of the normal Kuchiki-san. She was serious about this. The rest of the flight was awkward and silent before they finally had to change the planes. They slowly piled off and into the airport.

"This is where we say good-bye, Kurosaki-kun. I won't see you again."

"Inoue-"

"_Good bye_, Kurosaki-kun."

She began to walk away from him and he stood there, helpless. Suddenly, loud bangs went off that resonating through the airport. People began screaming and ducking, hearing the gunfire. Ichigo ran off, looking for Orihime in the crowd. He finally spotted her and grabbed onto her midsection. He pulled her underneath a nearby table and shielded her body with his. They waited until the police came by and told everyone that the people who had been shooting had been caught.

Planes were not allowed to leave or enter until further inspections had been taken. The bad news was that they all had to stay in a nearby hotel until this would get worked out. Hotels across the town had been quickly filled up, and Ichigo stayed close by Orihime. She didn't like it, but he continued to do so. Orihime found a hotel and quickly booked a room. Ichigo went up t the clerk to do the same thing, but was told, "I'm sorry, sir. We have no more rooms available."

Ichigo looked towards Orihime, hinting with his eyes that they should stay in the same room. It would make it easier for them to talk, and he would have a place to stay for the night. Orihime relented to his eyes, and offered. "Can I have another room key please?" The clerk handed one over and they walked to their room together.

"Why did you make me do that?"

"I needed a place to stay. We need to talk. It works out."

"In your favor, Kurosaki-kun." He rolled his eyes and resumed scowling.

The day slowly passed, and they gave their statements to the police. This meant that they just had to sit and wait for the planes to begin moving again, which would probably take a while, considering how many people the police needed to interview.

Nighttime fell over them like a shade, and they were both getting ready for bed. Orihime took out her pajamas and Ichigo stared at her. "Turn around, you hentai."

Ichigo blushed and turned around at the same time. He heard something unzip and clothes being removed, and he couldn't help the images that were popping up into his head. He was starting to get a hard-on, and it was only from the images he was conjuring up. "You can turn around."

He turned around, trying to cover his hard member before she could spot it. He blushed again when he saw what her pajamas were. A small and tight tank top and some short shorts were all it was, and it definitely accentuated her curves. He slowly stood up as she glared at him and went into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth after taking an incredibly cold shower. He walked back out to see Orihime sitting in the bed.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" She pointed towards the floor.

"No, I don't sleep on the floor." He pulled back the covers and got into the bed next to her. She glared at him and tried to push him out of the bed. She blushed when her hands met bare, warm skin.

He felt her cold hands on his chest, trying to push him out of the bed, but he refused. He grabbed her hands and managed to pull her on top of him. She straddled his waist and they stared at each other, recognizing the desire they felt that was pooling in the bottom of their stomachs. Orihime leaned down and their lips softly met each others. The moved against each other silently, and somewhere in the middle of their steamy make out session, Orihime's shirt came off, along with her shorts and Ichigo's pajama pants. They were both wearing underwear, and Ichigo's erection got a little bit stiffer when he saw the thong that Orihime had decided to put on that night.

She moaned loudly as he sucked on one of her nipples. He continued his ministrations until both were erect and perfectly pink from all his sucking and biting. He lightly kissed each tip before moving down to where her belly button was. He swirled his tongue inside of it and continued his path down. He pulled off her thong and was met with her shaved pussy (1). He licked along her entire slit, and he heard her moan above him. He continued this before finally inserting his tongue and playing with her clit. She grasped his hair in her hands and pulled him closer to her body. Her back arched off of the bed and into his face, causing her to effectively ride him. She screamed his name as she came into his waiting mouth.

He lapped everything that was coming out of her, and gave her one final lick when she seemed finished. He quickly pulled off his boxers and positioned himself at her entrance. She understood what he was about to do and pulled her legs around his waist. He slowly pushed into her, knowing that she was still a virgin. He was fully sheathed in her and waited for her to give him the sign to continue. A tear fell out of her eye and he kissed it tenderly while forcing himself not to continuously thrust into her tight heat. She was like a sheath to his sword, feeling so tight and perfect with her. He couldn't help but think it was slightly better than Rukia…

She kissed him lightly, giving him the sign to go on. He slowly reared back before pushing it a little harder. He continued his thrusts for several minutes, the sound of skin slapping skin filling the room. They were to the point of calling each other's names, and Ichigo felt how close they were. She screamed his name, his real name, once again and came around him. He moaned into her neck and thrust several more times, more violently than before. He came hard into her and he kissed the side of her neck.

Several minutes later, he pulled out of her and pulled her onto his chest. He was more relaxed than he had ever been and smiled into her hair. She lazily drew shapes on his chest and as the night progressed, they fell asleep in each others' arms.

**Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love.**

Two months had passed since that night. Orihime paced in her apartment, slightly worried about what she should do. She had come back to Karakura after she and Ichigo had slept together that one time. They had sex three more times after that, once on the plane and twice in her apartment. Tatsuki had already moved into her old apartment, but Orihime managed to find a newer one that would fit her more appropriately. This one even had two spare bedrooms…

She and Ichigo barely talked anymore. Part of it was the stress put on her when she saw him and Rukia get married. She had left early, not being able to take any more of it. Ichigo had sadly watched her leave, but returned to the party. All these months passed, and Orihime was officially worried. Not because of Rukia and Ichigo, but because of _her_ and Ichigo and that one night. The one night _without protection._ She didn't remember any condoms, and she definitely didn't expect to be having sex, so that ruled out the pill too. She had been late and was worrying. What if she was pregnant? What would happen when everyone found out that it was Ichigo's baby? She figured that she should at least tell him that there was a possibility. She grabbed her coat and walked out the door.

The walk to the Kurosaki house only took a couple minutes. She nervously knocked on the front door and waited. She stared at the sky, wondering what she should have for dinner and what the best pregnancy test would be. The door opened and gray eyes met purple. "Orihime."

"Rukia-san. Is Ichigo-kun home?" Rukia nodded and stepped outside the house, closing the door behind her.

"Can I ask you a question, Orihime?" Said girl nodded. "Why would you tell _my _husband that I'm pregnant? I told you all that in confidence, and you went off and told him. I didn't even get the chance!"

"Gomen, Rukia-san. I… I just needed to tell Ichigo-kun that. For personal reasons."

"What personal reasons could you have to tell my husband that I'm pregnant?"

"…I can't say. Is Ichigo-kun here? I really need to talk to him."

"Orihime. You told him that I was pregnant. I don't know if I should even let you talk to him. I'm afraid you might tell him something bad about me. What do you need to talk to him about anyways?"

"…Nothing. Actually, it, uh, wasn't that important, now that I think about it. Gomen, Rukia-san. Congratulations on the baby, and I'm incredibly sorry."

Orihime turned around and walked to the pharmacy around the corner, searching for the right pregnancy test. Rukia went back inside the house, and Ichigo came down the stairs. "Who was at the door?"

"Oh, just Orihime."

"What did she want?"

"…nothing. She just wanted to talk to you about something, but you were in the shower, so-"

"It's fine. If Inoue needed to talk to me-"

"Why are you so curious about what Orihime wanted?"

"…I just am. We became better friends over the past couple months…"

"Well, she came by. Then she left. End of story. Bug deal."

"Rukia. If something's wrong…"

"It's nothing, okay? Forget about it." Ichigo scowled at her before grabbing his coat off a nearby chair. "I'll be back in a while."

He walked out the door and went to where he knew Orihime should be. He knocked on her door and waited until she opened it. It took a couple of minutes, but the door finally opened and he saw her eyes.

"Ichigo-kun." He smirked and walked into her apartment without invitation.

"Hey, Inoue. Rukia said you came over earlier." She nodded and nervously looked towards the bathroom.

"I needed to tell you something. It's not important anymore…" He scowled. "I don't know. Last time you said something wasn't important was when you said how you were in love with me and tried to kill yourself twice. I'll take my chances."

Orihime chuckled nervously. "Well, it's hard to say…"

"Then just say it." Orihime looked towards the ground, trying to avoid his eyes. "I'm pregnant. At least, I think I am. I'm taking a test now to see what it says."

He turned towards the bathroom, eyes wide. "Is it done yet?" She shook her head. "I'm still waiting."

He simply nodded and sat down on the couch. "So… all those times that we-"

"Yes." They awkwardly stood there when the oven timer went off. "I'll go check the test now."

She walked into the bathroom and came back out with a little white stick in her hands. "I- I think that it says I'm pregnant. That's what the box says at least…" Ichigo ran a hand over his face.

"This just got so complicated."

**Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love.**

Orihime was eight months pregnant. Her ankles were swollen, she was moody, and most of all, she was ready for this baby to get out of her body. She had already decided on a name, and Ichigo had been secretly going to her doctor's appointments. She was excited for this baby to be born, since it was her first. She had always loved kids, and couldn't wait until it was time for it. She was going to take a small car ride to her second cousin's house that lived only an hour away. Ichigo was worried that something would happen to her when she was there, and he wouldn't be able to get there fast enough. The only reason he was letting her go was because Tatsuki was going with her.

Tatsuki would be able to take care of Orihime when he couldn't, even if she didn't know that it was his baby she was protecting. Orihime's cover story was that she had a drunken one night stand and got pregnant by some random guy. Ichigo was nervous as hell when he went to see Orihime off. Rukia thought he was just being friendly, but he was being much more protective than that. More paternal. His and Rukia's baby had been born three months before, and his beautiful son, Kuyahin, was perfect in every way. He looked almost exactly like Rukia, other than the fact that his eyes were Ichigo's brown.

Ichigo watched Tatsuki's car drive away with Orihime in it, already worried for her and his new baby. H left to go home to Kuyahin and Rukia, and got to thinking. He knew he should tell Rukia about Orihime and his new baby, but he wasn't sure of her reaction. If he told her… he might never see Kuyahin again, but she might be reasonable…

Orihime was talking Tatsuki's ear off in the car, trying to hide something. Orihime had been wide awake the night before, feeling all the kicking in her stomach. Her new baby would definitely be an athlete, like his or her father. She loved this baby already. But she still loved its father too.

_**Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love. Strawberry Love.**_

He had gotten the call from Tatsuki. The call that he had sort of been waiting for. It started out fairly normal… But Tatsuki had demanded he come down to the hospital where Orihime was. She had the baby, and it was a little girl. Orihime was asleep when Tatsuki made the call, so she couldn't run any damage control. Tatsuki was pissed as hell, and probably going to beat him up when he gets there. Apparently, the baby had brown eyes like he did, and a tiny little scowl. This was the one baby that had to look exactly like him. And he loved it.

He had gotten to the hospital in record time, and ran to Orihime's room. It was in the maternity ward, and he found her with his new daughter in her arms. Tatsuki was out, probably getting coffee.

"Ichigo-kun!" He smirked at her childish smile, and moved to look at the baby. "I hope you don't mind. I kind of thought of a name for the baby already. Maybe… Rin?"

He smiled softly. "I like that." He kissed Orihime on the forehead and carefully took the baby from her arms. This baby did scarily look exactly like him. He didn't mind at all, and he smiled.

"So, I was thinking that maybe we could call the baby… Rin Masaki Inoue?"

Ichigo looked up at the last name. "Inoue?"

"Yes?"

"No, I mean… You want Rin's last name to be… Inoue?"

"It can't be Kurosaki. You're supposed to be with Rukia-san still. Remember?" He silently nodded. He definitely needed to end things with Rukia. He didn't want to break her heart, but he needed to. He couldn't keep hurting Orihime like this, or lying to Rukia like this. He reluctantly gave Rin back to her mother and Orihime glanced up at him questioningly.

"I need to end things with Rukia. The lying needs to stop." She nodded at him and watched him walk out of the room.

Things would finally end up for the better. Or at least, in her favor. For once in her life.

_**END.**_

_**A/N: **_

_**I hate using the word pussy. But I couldn't think of anything better… Sorry.**_

So… How was it? Reviews please. Maybe an epilogue?

~klrob


	2. Epilogue

A/N: So people wanted an epilogue… Merry Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa! A really belated one…. but still! It's the thought that counts! It's kind of short… sorry.

**Epilogue**

Two years had passed since Rin was born. She could now talk and walk and do all the normal things two-year-olds do, and then some. She was starting to become more spiritually aware which tended to attract an occasional hollow, or even some of the lost Arrancars. Either way, they ended up getting taken care of. Kurosaki Ichigo now lived with the two Inoues, and was "in a relationship" with Orihime. They had been dating since the day he told Rukia about Rin's paternity. He could still remember it so clearly…

_Flashback…_

_ Kurosaki Ichigo walked through the front door of his house that he shared with Kurosaki Rukia. She was taking care of their son while he had been away. _

_ "Where have you been?" She had already begun her interrogation._

_ "Inoue had her baby and Tatsuki wanted me to go down to the hospital." The slightest truth might lessen the situation._

_ "…I slept with Renji while you were gone."_

_ "EXCUSE ME?"_

_ "I slept with Renji. You and I both know who you're really in love with, and it definitely isn't me. Not anymore, at least. It might have been a long time ago, but it's not anymore."_

_ Ichigo grimaced at his smaller wife's declaration. "And you know this how?"_

_ "I can just tell. It's the way you look at each other. The way you act around each other. But still! You should've told me, you baka!" She kicked him in the stomach and he doubled over. _

_ "What the hell was that for?" She glared at him. "For not letting me know earlier!"_

_ He inhaled deeply and stood back up. "Well, sorry for not wanting to lose a son!"_

_ "Are you really that stupid, you baka? You aren't really that dense! You should've been able to see how much Renji was in love with me! That's why I slept with him! I'm not as dense as you are, so I was actually able to see what was going on between you and Hime-chan."_

…_End Flashback_

That was one of the best days of his life, being able to go back to the hospital and tell Inoue that they could be together. Rukia was one of the best people in the world, too. She let him still see Kuyahin and he saw how happy his son was, even with Renji around all the time. He was glad that Rukia could be happy with Renji and he could be happy with Inoue.

He rolled over in their bed and he smiled at her calm, sleeping face. He continued staring at her face intently when her grey eyes opened to meet his.

"Kurosaki-kun…" She yawned and gave him a small smile. "Why are you staring at me?"

He pulled her close to his chest and rested his head on top of hers. "Because I can."

Their bedroom door slammed open and startled them away from each other.

"Oyaji!" Rin waddled onto their bed and between the two lovers.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that? Don't listen to Karin!" Rin gave him a cute smile and snuggled under their covers.

"Don't blame Karin-chan. You are becoming an old man, Ichi… Just like Kurosaki-san."

"I ain't anything like that old man!" He scowled, but it fell of his face as he saw the two girls in his life laughing at him.

"Oyaji! Can we go see Kuya-nii later today?" Rin spoke slowly, trying to properly piece each word together.

"What about Renji-san? Or Rukia-san?" Rin shook her head. "Rukia-san is too fat now."

Orihime and Ichigo smiled at each other, thinking of Rukia and her pregnant stomach. In the past seven months, Renji had managed to get her pregnant again, and had promised to marry her. Of course, this led to many fights, but they were still going through with it anyways.

The small family got out of bed slowly and went to get ready for the day. Orihime got into the shower while Ichigo gave Rin a bath. When they were finished, Orihime would bring Rin downstairs to start breakfast while Ichigo would take his shower. Orihime had prepared pancakes (with some red bean paste on hers), some hashbrowns (with wasabi on the side), and then each person got a regular glass of orange juice. Kuyahin was soon going to be picked up by Ichigo and Orihime so that he and Rin could go to the park to play together and join the family for a picnic.

About two hours later, Rin and Kuyahin were being supervised by Ichigo while Orihime went to set up lunch. She had brought fairly normal foods, but in her own, she added red bean paste and wasabi. Rin was lucky enough to inherit Ichigo's sense of taste instead of her mother's. Orihime had seemed nervous to Ichigo, which made him worry about her. She had asked to speak to him privately after lunch, which worried him even more. He couldn't think of anything good that might come out of a conversation like that.

He heard Orihime get the two kids and himself to start the picnic, but he was still thinking about what she might have to tell him. He hadn't noticed everyone finish lunch except for him. A hand was gently placed on Ichigo's shoulder, startling him out of his reverie.

"Are you okay, Ichi-kun?" Orihime's grey eyes were filled with worry, and all of it was for him.

"Yeah… I'm fine." He looked down at his lunch and saw a ham sandwich. He began eating it and chomped happily on the delicious lunch his girlfriend had made him. Kuyahin and Rin had left to play tag with some other kids that Rin recognized from her neighborhood.

"So, you wanted to tell me something, right?" Ichigo turned to his girlfriend after swallowing his lunch. Orihime suddenly became more nervous and he stared intently.

"Oi, Orihime. What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Oh, nothing's wrong. It's just…" He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up into his questioning eyes.

"You can tell me anything." She took a deep breath and quickly let out, "I'mpregnantagain."

Ichigo's eyebrows scrunched together and his scowl fell in place. "What?"

Orihime giggled at his funny expression and repeated, "I'm pregnant… again."

Ichigo's confused expression was replaced by one of shock. "Really? Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I'm not that far into the pregnancy, but it's far enough…"

He took a deep breath as his mind finally began to comprehend what she had just told him. "Well, I guess we should get married then."

Orihime's head snapped up, hitting the back of her skull into his forehead. Ichigo was hit with enough force to be thrown back, and he began to tumble down the hill.

He finally stopped by the small playground. He jumped back up after lying on his back for a while, dazed. Orihime was running down the hill to meet him, and he could see on her face how sorry she was for causing his fall. He walked towards her and kissed her on the lips lightly before she could say anything.

"I want you to marry me." He moved his head back as a precaution before looking at her. "And it's okay, I'm sure you didn't mean to make me fall down that giant hill."

She guiltily smiled before thinking. "Why do you want me to marry you?"

"Well, I actually have for a while now, but I never got the chance to ask. I was going to when we went out on Thursday, but since you're now pregnant…"

"If you're doing this because I'm pregnant, then the answer is no." He took her hands into his. "I want to marry you because you're beautiful, independent, strong-willed, have some really beautiful eyes, and are the perfect match for me. The fact that I love you and that we're having two kids together is thrown in there too, but… it's the other things that count."

She looked down, thinking about all that he said. It took her about four seconds before she quietly said, "Yes."

He put his finger under her chin, making her look at him. "I'm sorry, I could've sworn you just said that you would marry me."

"I did." He smirked and lightly kissed him on the mouth.

This moment, the moment at the park with his son and daughter and fiancé, with the children's laughter in their ears, but focused on his soon-to-be wife, in one sentence?

It was perfect.

.

.

.

**END.**

**A/N:** Super cheesy and cute. And short. Sorry about that… Wanted to get it out before 2011. And I wouldn't have done it sooner. But happy holidays to everyone!

Reviews and even flames are welcome…

~klrob


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